Making Gunpowder and Rolled Teas

We saw all kinds of Gunpowder and Chunmee - beautiful shiny, tightly rolled Gunpowder, half-Gunpowder grades, various grades of Chunmee with well-formed half-moon shapes and others with more open leaf. We saw old, traditional rollers that went back and forth and spanking new, modern machines such as the one in this picture. It reminded us of gently swinging baby cribs! As the leaf goes back and forth, it gets rolled. Imagine the blade on top of the wok-like structure swinging back and forth, rolling the leaf. This is an automated roller with the temperature and speed strictly controlled. We saw others, blackened with age, and a coal fire underneath which would have to be controlled by experience and a good eye.